If you are charged with a crime in Connecticut, you might be able to avoid a criminal conviction through a program known as Accelerated Rehabilitation, commonly referred to as "AR." The authority for the AR program is Connecticut General Statute Section 54-56e. Here is a summary overview of the AR program.
AR is a pretrial diversionary program available to certain certain criminal defendants arrested for some crimes in Connecticut. If you successfully completes the AR program, the criminal charges against you would be dismissed and there would no criminal conviction on your record. I think of AR as a recognition of this reality: sometimes good people are accused of doing stupid things – or sometimes good people do stupid things – but that doesn't mean they should necessarily suffer the consequences of a criminal conviction.
If you decide to apply for AR, the process requires two stages and usually two more court appearances (and sometimes more). Stage one when you apply for the program; and stage two when the Judge decides whether to grant or deny your application.
Here are the typical steps in the two-stage AR application process:
Stage One
Stage Two
If the court grants the application, you then pay the program participation fee (currently $100) and are then monitored by the CSSD for the period of time set by the court (up to a maximum of two years) for compliance with the conditions of your AR, which always includes – at a minimum – no arrests for other criminal or serious motor vehicle offenses. If you comply with the conditions and successfully complete the period of diversionary probation, then the charges against you would be dismissed.
Please note: this is just a summary and overview of the AR program and application process. There are certain crimes that are not eligible for participation. Also, certain things in one's background if not adequately explained could result in a denial of the application. While a person does not need a lawyer to get the AR program, an experienced Connecticut criminal defense lawyer can often be the difference between getting AR or not. One quick example: sometimes a criminal defense attorney can persuade a prosecutor to reduce the charges so as to make someone eligible to apply for the program.
If you have been accused or arrested for a crime or motor vehicle offense in Connecticut or need assistance and representation with regard to an application for accelerated rehabilitation for a Connecticut criminal or motor vehicle charge, please call or email.
Attorney Ron Murphy has been defending people accused of serious crimes and motor vehicle offenses since 1983. For more information on his background as a Connecticut criminal defense lawyer, click here for his bio.